I remember during one of my kids 27hr delivery, I was told to go home and rest. So I did and I even surfed the net played one of the quake games at home for a bit while my wife slept in the hospital bed. I didn't even come close to missing the actual birth at all. The media is shit. Obviously written by someone who has never had kids directed twords people who have never had kids. Child birth takes time , unless you are one of the very few that births quickly. The nurses track the dilation, they know how long it will be.